ATSC 3.0

There may be a big silver lining to Sinclair’s loss of its proposed merger with Tribune. In its wake the group has shifted its strategy from TV station acquisition to nonbroadcast ventures like regional sports networks, OTT services and possibly some kind of national news service. And it’s continuing to lead the way toward ATSC 3.0, which it is convinced will multiply the value of broadcast spots through targeting, and enable lucrative new businesses like datacasting.

In a rare cross-industry exercise to plan for how some burgeoning new technologies — 5G and ATSC 3.0 — might impact the advertising and media industry, a consortium backed by Fox today will release a white paper summing up a variety of scenarios to help advertisers, agencies and media suppliers prepare for the future.

A consortium of station groups pledges to launch the new next-gen transmission standard in top markets by the end of next year. But while broadcasters seem to have found consensus on how to get 3.0 signals on-air, their long-term plans for business models are still unclear. And there are also some tough decisions broadcasters will need to make about what kind of single frequency network they need to build out.

At the Phoenix Model Market next-gen TV pilot project, Comscore, Kantar Media, Nielsen, Verance and Yotta Media Labs are studying how ATSC 3.0 can provide broadcasters with more granular and more actionable information since it offers many measurement options.

A broad coalition of television station groups as well as public broadcasters announced at the NAB Show on Monday that ATSC 3.0 will be rolled out in 40 U.S. markets by the end of 2019.

Spectrum Co. and Pearl TV are expected to jointly announce ATSC 3.0 launches involving some 150 stations in 30 markets during next week’s gathering in Las Vegas. Their goal is to build a national footprint that will let broadcasters better compete with wireless companies and OTT providers while spurring the development of 3.0-ready TV sets and other consumer devices.

The test, which included the Verance Aspect watermark and Dolby AC-4, successfully demonstrated that the dialogue enhancement feature of Dolby AC-4 can be delivered as a standalone audio stream over the internet and paired with video delivered through a live linear broadcast.

The next-gen transmission standard will give television broadcasters much needed tools to both grow revenue and defend against revenue erosion in their core over-the-air video business. ATSC 3.0 is expected to drive growth and resilience from both advertising and retrans fees, plus open up new targeted, cross-platform advertising opportunities.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai signaled Friday that the FCC is preparing to start accepting next-gen TV (ATSC 3.0) license applications and that the Media Bureau is even now working on an order to wrap up some open issues, including the local simulcasting requirement for stations without a viable partner, and a second order to resolve various petitions for reconsideration (filed by cable operators).

The recipients of TVNewsCheck’s inaugural Women in Technology Futurist Awards — the TVB’s Abby Auerbach and LG and ATSC’s Madeleine Noland — epitomize the quality of taking a long-range view of where the television industry should be moving and figuring out how to get it there.

Fox stations chief Jack Abernethy used NATPE to stress the importance of the new tech. Its rollout and the services it enables, he said, is being held back by broadcasters’ short-term thinking and their inability to work with each other and to grasp the technology’s non-TV potential.

A new Magid survey reports consumers find the most value in the combination of features, with the pairing of 4K enhanced video with high dynamic range and immersive 3D audio having the broadest appeal.

The move is designed to accelerate and expand the development of Next Gen TV experiences in the U.S. and Europe. Initial projects include the identification and development of leading consumer offerings, business modeling, proof of concept and market trial management, retailer education and service lifecycle management and operations.

ONE Media’s Jerald Fritz: “Using the great big IP data pipe that is a Next Gen TV channel, broadcasters will have the flexibility to provide traditional linear TV entertainment and informational programming to both fixed and mobile devices. Plus, they can use their channels for complementary 5G services.”

At CES last week, UltraHD displays, cars as entertainment centers and datacasting looked like real opportunities and the new broadcast standard is just the thing to exploit them.

Sinclair and its ONE Media innovations group announced key deals with Harmon and Korea’s SK Telecom at CES this week to jointly develop and commercialize broadcasting-based automotive technology using the ATSC 3.0 standard. “The whole vehicular space is one that is increasingly connected,” says Sinclair’s Mark Aitken.

Sinclair’s ONE Media and Saankhya Labs introduce the “world’s most advanced” multi-standard demodulator system-on-a-chip in Las Vegas.

The two will fund and manage a joint venture company within the first quarter of this year that would provide ATSC 3.0 standards-based solutions to all U.S. broadcasting companies and seek other opportunities globally.

TVNewsCheck’s prescient editor, Harry Jessell, asks his infallible Magic 8-Ball to reveal how 2019 will unfold for various aspects of the television business, including core advertising, political advertising, retrans, mergers, FCC ownership caps, Big-4 duopolies and ATSC 3.0. He then expounds on the answers since, while all-knowing, the 8-Ball is notoriously terse.

For broadcasters, January’s Consumer Electronics Show will be a chance to drum up interest in ATSC 3.0 and check in on products — especially connected cars, voice-enabled devices and the internet of things — that will define consumers’ experiences over the next year.

Mitch Singer: “Samsung, LG and Sony — the biggest TV manufacturers — have recently joined Fox, NBC and Telemundo Owned Stations Group and a growing list of other leading broadcasters in voicing their commitment to ATSC 3.0, which powers next-gen TV.”

Sinclair joint venture ONE Media is pleading its case with the FCC to make sure ATSC 3.0 next-gen TV standards are considered while making plans for 5G networks. According to an FCC filing, Mark Aitken, president of ONE Media, recently met with Commissioner Michael O’Rielly and other FCC officials to discuss ATSC 3.0’s ability to deliver data services outside of television.

CBS has been the great ATSC 3.0 naysayer. But now that retrans-centric CEO Les Moonves is gone and 4K is an apparent must for future NFL broadcasts, we can hope that it will reconsider and join Fox and NBC in embracing the new broadcast standard.

Not all broadcasters believe that the cap should go away completely. Graham’s Emily Barr: “The problem is, 39% seems wrong and 100% seems wrong.” Other topics at the TV2020 conference Wednesday: The panelists were extremely bullish on how much live programming will play into the overall health of the broadcast industry. And they expressed enthusiasm for ATSC 3.0, saying that there is no need for a solid business 3.0 business plan to make sense of the massive initiative. L-r: TVNewsCheck’s Harry Jessell, Graham Media’s Emily Barr, Nexstar’s Perry Sook, Fox Television Stations’ Jack Abernethy and Gray’s Hilton Howell. (Photo: Wendy Moger-Bross)

Broadcasters and consumer electronics makers stood united at TVN’s TV2020 conference today in working toward introduction of ATSC 3.0 services of some kind in markets by 2020. The initial services have yet to be determined, but will probably include 4K HDR UltraHD and immersive audio.

NPG is partnering with the NAB and Pearl TV alliance of broadcasters to launch the new 3.0 standard in Santa Barbara on ABC affiliate KSBB. The test is designed to allow broadcasters in the nation’s mid-to-smaller markets see exactly how next-gen TV will enhance services for local viewers and for broadcasters.